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Excerpt from Oral History Interview with Nancy Brown Tysor, October 19, 1999. Interview K-0811. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) See Entire Interview >>

Chain retailers and better roads come to Chatham County

Tysor describes the arrival of Wal-Mart and the way in which better transportation allows people to leave the area. She tries to compete with chain stores by carrying stock tailored to the needs of her customers.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Nancy Brown Tysor, October 19, 1999. Interview K-0811. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

BRUCE E. BAKER:
What, what changes did you notice in, from, from fifty-four or so to sixty-eight? What things had changed and what things hadn't?
NANCY BROWN TYSOR:
Well, not a whole lot of difference in that time. It didn't seem to be that much of a change in that period of time. Most of the change has been in the last, say, ten years. As the new shopping centers and the Wal-Marts just closed around. And more people have got better ways of traveling. People like to go out to eat or to look. It takes them away from the little town. They go looking for something larger and bigger or better or something.
BRUCE E. BAKER:
When, so, when, for instance, the shopping center up there where the Belk's is, about when did that open up?
NANCY BROWN TYSOR:
It's probably been there about fifteen years now. But I don't really think that the, our type of customers, I'll say, is the working type of people, the outdoor working people, the hard-working people. They're looking for brogans and denim bib overalls and jackets and coveralls, flannel shirts. They come to the Farmer's Alliance Store to look for them. We try to carry a good quality of clothing. So we have some customers that's keeping us here, you know, that keeps coming back.
BRUCE E. BAKER:
Do you, as there are more and more Hispanic people in town, do many of them shop here?
NANCY BROWN TYSOR:
We have a few. Not too many. But they're nice when they come in. We can't complain about their conduct or anything. They're real nice.